Winter storm affects roads, businesses

The winter storm that hit the area Tuesday had an impact on rural roads and businesses.

For a lot of residents, deciding to live in Wisconsin means signing up for snow in the winter, but it is important to remember to be safe behind the wheel when road conditions are affected by winter weather.

For Kevin Ploessl, the night manager at Country Corners in the town of Cottage Grove, the wintry weather can affect business.

"It does kind of affect us when it starts getting over 6 inches, but with Bucky Badger doing as good as he is with men's basketball, people will brave the weather to come out here for that and have one our burgers," Ploessl said.

The wind is the big story with this storm, and rural roads can be hit hard.

"With the rural roads it's hard to see where the edge of the pavement is and where the shoulder starts and that transition between the pavement may or may not be smooth so that also can catch your tires so you may drift off the road and not even plan on it, " Dane County Deputy Randy Wiessinger said. "We have this all winter long. We should know what we need to do. We need to slow down, plan in advance and focus on driving.”

Having a nice set of wheels doesn't hurt when competing against Mother Nature either.

"Four wheel drive; it's kind of hard to live without. It's kind of a necessity living in Wisconsin. [I upgraded] last month and I'm very happy," Ploessl said.

The Dane County Sheriff's Office reminds drivers not to text and drive and says drivers shouldn't use cellphones at all in the winter to concentrate on driving.

The Madison Streets Division said they will have 26 crews out overnight salting and sanding roads so Wednesday morning’s commute goes smoothly.

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